I’ve always wondered what was going on with the ancient polo bikes which were rotting away at Herne Hill Velodrome. They had been used for grass games in the past but recently we have heard nothing of them. So it was great to here that Rollapaluza CC has recently purchaed the 11 reminaing bikes and now plans to totally overhaul them so they can be used once again!

Apparently they need quite a lot of work on them so any donations of time and spare parts (26″ wheels!) would be much appreciated. The aim is to get them fixed up and suitably stored at Herne Hill so we can eventually play some grass games.

A few more details on London FGSS and photos from Flickr.

August 17th: as part of the Shoreditch Festival we will be hosting a day of bike polo compteition. Register your team now by emailing roxy@trixiechix.com (deadline 10th July, and its free!) for your chance to compete and win prizes from our many wonderfull sponsors as well as a free saddle for each rider from Brooks! Read the full details below…

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We’ve written up an official set of rules for the August 17th tournament. Click here for a PDF or read them after the jump.

Timing
First round games will last twelve minutes, or until one team has 5 points,
whichever comes first. If tied at twelve minutes, goes to sudden death. From the
semi-finals onwards, games go to 5 points regardless of time
Time outs
- may be called in order to tend to physical injury only after a goal is
scored.
- are limited to one per game per team
- Refs can call injury and mechanical failure time outs over and above
these rules, but is under no obligation.
- If time outs are called in the first round, timing of the game does not stop.
Bike
You can ride any bike you like, but handlebars must be plugged and you must
have at least one brake. A fixed drive train counts of course.
Scoring
A goal must be made from what started as a hit. A “Hit” is made from the
end of a player’s mallet. A “Shuffle” is hitting the ball with the side of the mallet.
A shuffle does not count as a goal; if the ball is shuffled through the goal, play
continues uninterrupted.
No height limit for goals, there is an invisible line going up from the center
of cones.
After a goal is scored, the team who scored must ‘tap out’ at their own goal.
The team who was scored against takes possession of the ball.
It is legal to travel with the ball using the ‘ball joint/angelo’ style of carrying
the ball but you cannot score with it.
Ball through goals
When the ball is passed “backward” through the goal (from behind the
goal line to in front of it, through the goal) a goal CANNOT be scored by the first
player to play the ball. Any subsequent player to play the ball may score.
If a ball is shot from in front of the goal line and does not go through the
goal but bounces off the back wall and comes out through the goal, the ball is in
play and can be scored. A ball that crosses a goal line backwards must be “hit”
before it can be a goal.
Foot down
Players must not touch the ground with their feet or “foot-down”. Each time
a player does foot-down, that player is out of play and may not play the ball until
s/he touches the sideline at center court. Then s/he may return to play.
Contact rules
“Like” contact is allowed. However, contact is only permitted when playing
the ball.
-Player to player (body to body), except grabbing or pushing with
hands.
-Mallet to mallet (generally, hitting another player’s mallet is poor
etiquette if that player is not attempting to play the ball or in front of the
goal, playing goalie).
-Bike to bike.
-Everything else is NOT allowed: Mallet to player, player to bike,
mallet to bike, etc.
-Trash-talking is allowed
- If your bum is in your saddle and your feet are on your peddles,
any part of your body can block the ball. Please don’t add momentum to it
though. Adding momentum to the ball with body contact will be treated as
a footdown.
- Mallet-throwing is not allowed.
Referees
Two refs will be appointed per game from a team not represented on the
court or from non-competing polo players present. They’ll be assigned ahead of
time. If you would like to ref or if you are bringing a friend who you can
recommend let us know ASAP.
Refs will:
- determine if the ball went between the cones and is a goal.
- fix cones when they get knocked down.
- keep track of score. Score must be called out after every goal.
- keep track of time.
- call injury time outs for major injuries.
- provide extra ball when ball gets knocked out of play.
- Ref’s have the last word.
Players have the responsibility to keep legal play on the court. If they are
unable the ref can demand the offending party to, depending on the seriousness
of the wrongful act:
- tap out at either the sidelines or either goal line.
- do a lap around the court before re-entering play
- In extreme cases any form of public humiliation will be considered proper
punishment for offenders (no nudity please)
***Ignorance is no excuse. If you don’t understand a rule, please ask.

From Trackosauras: The picture Solo Vélo Polo is from Corinne Stoll, the rider is le lama and the bike is a Gorilla Bicycle.

We have lots of people coming to London from out of town and abroad on the 17th of August for the tournament. We need places for them to stay, if you can sleep 1 or 2 people and their bikes please drop roxy@trixiechix.com a message as soon as possible.

play pretty good! just got back from the fair town and had a few games, big up to doug and everyone out there!

lots of people playing on freewheels, with rear brakes.. lots of talent, fast games, nicer  court than ours..

oop, whos that?

this is my first post by the way, hello.

http://www.theridejournal.com/

We are very happy to confirm that Brooks will be sponsoring the 17th August Shoreditch Bike Polo Invitational. As well as supplying a range of prizes, Brooks will be giving each registered player a Brooks saddle for them to compete with on the day. Players will be given four different choices of saddle style as well as being able to choose the colour.

There is limited space in the tournament because it is taking place in the space of a day which is why it is important to REGISTER NOW (free!) by emailing roxy@trixiechix.com with your team name, player’s names and their email addresses. There is a deadline in July for registrations which we will be the 10th, best to register as soon as you can!

Further details for the day are coming soon, for now you can read the rules <a href=”http://bricklanebikepolo.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/rules.pdf”>here (PDF)</a>. Don’t forget more sponsorship for the tournament is coming from Moving Target, Hell Yeah!, Smeear, Archie’s Grobags, Fixed Gear London and Red Bull.

This Saturday afternoon/evening sees the launch of a new international fixed-gear magazine in East London. There’ll also be the London premier of the new tricks compilation movie Bootleg Sessions Vol.2. Check out the flier below for details and…. Fixed Mag. Fixed Gear London. Bootleg Sessions.